Tag Archives: Coroner

‘Jackass’ star killed in car crash stayed ‘real,’ say patrons of the Pennsylvania bar where he was last seen. By Mary J. DiMeglio Ryan Dunn Photo: Getty Images WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania — In Ryan Dunn’s adopted hometown, the “Jackass” star is remembered, not for his celebrity status, but rather for his ability to remain modest despite living in the limelight. When MTV News visited Barnaby’s of America in West Chester’s quaint downtown business district — the last place Dunn was seen before his fatal car crash early Monday morning — the bar’s patrons praised the fallen daredevil for never letting fame go to his head. As TVs showed a Phillies game and a guitarist strummed acoustic renditions of tunes ranging from Arcade Fire to Britney Spears, customers shared their memories of a neighbor who seemingly everyone in town had the chance to meet. “He was real,” said Sam Ford, who was celebrating her 25th birthday at Barnaby’s. With Dunn’s accident in mind, Ford said she and her boyfriend, Brock Jackson, would be taking a cab home that night. (Police have yet to determine whether alcohol played a role in Dunn’s death.) Jackson, 31, said he grew up playing Little League with Bam Margera and that Christopher Raab, (a.k.a. “Raab Himself”) an original member of Bam’s CKY stunt crew and the “Jackass” cast, was his best friend growing up. “I can’t even tell you how crushed he is,” Jackson said of Raab. Jackson said Dunn, who was 34, had “truly kind eyes” and “a heart and a half.” He was especially impressed by the well-known resident’s memory, saying, “He remembered every time he met somebody.” Around 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Dunn’s 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 flew through 40 yards of trees before hitting one and bursting into flames. West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll told Radar Online the Porsche was traveling at about 130 mph in a 55 mph zone when it collided with a guardrail. Jon Gurten, who grew up watching the “Jackass” crew’s antics, drove about 35 miles from Philadelphia on Tuesday to visit the rural crash site. “Just being local, it was weird how it hit you,” Gurten said of Dunn’s death. “We don’t know the guy, but he seemed like a normal dude doing good for himself.” Seeing the “long distance of trees that was ripped apart,” Gurten also witnessed a visit from Margera, who placed a candle near the already-replaced guardrail. Robert Moyer, 32, said at least 50 people were paying their respects when he stopped by the site Monday afternoon as police investigated amid the stench of burning wood and plastic. Moyer said Dunn shook his hand and “acted like a normal guy” when the two crossed paths at West Chester’s T.G.I. Friday’s. “He wasn’t trying to throw his money down or act like a big shot. He didn’t have a chip on his shoulder,” Moyer recalled. “He said, ‘Thanks for the support. Thanks for watching my movies.’ ” Hailing from the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, West Chester University student Kait Sabo, 21, attested to the attention Dunn and his cohorts have brought to her new home. “When I say I go to West Chester, they associate it with ‘Jackass,’ and I’m from three hours away,” she explained. “They cheated death a lot,” Sabo said of the show’s stars. “You have to stop pushing your limits and realize death is a possibility.” Her friend, West Chester native Christy Colflesh, called Dunn a “down-to-earth, totally awesome guy” who never refused a request to pose for photographs with fans. She said at least 20 cars lined the street near the crash site on Tuesday afternoon, and some visitors collected bits of trees and whatever scraps they could find of the shattered Porsche. “So many people loved him,” she said, referring to the plethora of Ryan Dunn memorial pages that have cropped up on Facebook in the past few days. “People stand up for him.” The Chester County coroner’s report lists blunt force trauma and thermal trauma as the official causes of death for Dunn and his passenger, 30-year-old Iraq vet Zachary Hartwell , who was credited as a production assistant on “Jackass Number Two.” Hours before the crash, Dunn tweeted a photo of himself, Hartwell and another man at Barnaby’s. Toxicology results, which might help determine whether alcohol was involved in the crash, will be released in four to six weeks, the coroner’s office said. A Barnaby’s employee told MTV News on Monday afternoon that Dunn “didn’t seem intoxicated.” Dunn appeared on the MTV shows “Jackass” and “Viva La Bam” and the three “Jackass” big-screen adaptations. He was the star of his own short-lived MTV show, “Homewrecker,” and co-hosted the brand-new G4 show “Proving Ground,” which has been pulled off the network’s schedule. Share your memories of Ryan Dunn on our Facebook page or in the comments below. Related Videos Remembering Ryan Dunn Related Photos Ryan Dunn: A Career In Photos

Police estimate Dunn’s car was going 130 mph when he crashed. By James Montgomery Ryan Dunn Photo: Michael Buckner/ Getty Images The initial autopsy of “Jackass” star Ryan Dunn and the passenger killed in an early-morning wreck in rural Pennsylvania on Monday revealed that the two died from blunt-force trauma and the fire that consumed Dunn’s vehicle. According to the Chester County Coroner, Dunn and 30-year-old Zachary Hartwell were both dead before police arrived at the scene of the accident, which occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Monday in West Goshen Township, when the amateur daredevil’s 2007 Porsche 911 GTS swerved off the road and flew through 40 yards of trees before hitting one and bursting into flames. Relive Ryan Dunn’s best stunts on the “Jackass” TV show. West Goshen Police Chief Michael Carroll told Radar Online that an accident-reconstruction team was able to determine that the Porsche was traveling at a very high rate of speed — almost 130 mph — when it collided with a guard rail. “I’ve never seen a car destroyed in an automobile accident the way this car was, even before it caught on fire,” Carroll said. “The automobile actually came apart. It was unbelievable and I’ve been on a lot of fatal accident scenes. This was by far the worst I’ve ever seen.” TMZ reported that, based on the autopsy results, “It seems it was impossible to determine if the two died from the impact of the crash itself or from the fire that resulted.” The coroner also told the site that toxicology results for both men — which would help determine whether alcohol was involved in the crash — would be released in four to six weeks. In the hours before the crash, Dunn was photographed drinking at Barnaby’s of America , a bar in West Chester, Pennsylvania, leading some to speculate that he was drunk before the accident occurred. But an employee of the bar told MTV News that he “didn’t seem intoxicated.” “He seemed like he was having a good time, hanging out with friends,” the employee said. “[He] only had a couple beers here. As far as we’re concerned, the biggest thing, our hearts go out to the family and friends, and his loss is a big loss to our community. The biggest thing we’re worried about is his friends and family.” Share your memories of Ryan Dunn in the comments below. Related Videos Remembering Ryan Dunn Related Photos Ryan Dunn: A Career In Photos

This is so sad. Another young mother and her children have been killed. This time in Rockford, Ill: An adult and two children found dead inside a burning northwest-side home Sunday were fatally shot before the fire. The autopsies, performed today by the Winnebago County coroner’s office, confirmed Rockford police detectives’ and fire inspectors’ suspicions. “It appears the fire was started to cover up the homicides,” Deputy Chief Greg Lindmark said. Firefighters responded at 4:30 a.m. Sunday to 2708 Canterbury Lane for a residential structure fire. They extinguished the blaze and found a body inside the residence. Further investigation by the Rockford fire and police departments turned up the children’s bodies. How the beige ranch home caught fire has yet to be determined. “We’re utilizing the state crime lab, the state fire marshal, Rockford fire investigators and Rockford police detectives,” Lindmark said. While the coroner’s office is still in the process of identifying the victims through dental records, several dozen family members, co-workers and classmates stopped at the corner residence throughout the day today. They signed their names on a poster-size sympathy card hung outside the home on a chain-link fence and placed candles, stuffed animals and three makeshift crosses each bearing the name of a family member. The family and friends identified the victims as Tasha Cleary, a 12-year-son nicknamed “Mook” and a 2-year-son named Tarri. Danielle Streit and Kelly Blackwell said Cleary was their co-worker at Vision Financial, a Rockford collection agency. “She had incredible wit,” Blackwell said. “She was very funny, and she would (do anything) for those kids.” Streit added, “She was my hairdresser. She was good person. It’s just a senseless crime.” Cleary’s landlord, Lois Sallinger, said the family had rented the Canterbury Lane home since Feb. 1, 2010. Cleary planned to move at the end of the month into a home of her own. “She wanted to have her own salon in the basement to do hair,” Streit said. Neighbor Heidi Russell, 28, watched firefighters return to the scene this afternoon, venture past the yellow crime scene tape, and tote charred articles out of the house in large gray metal pails. Also a mother of two children, Russell said she hugged her 7-year-old daughter, Tessah, and 2-year-old son, Gabin, a little bit tighter than normal Sunday after learning of the deaths. “It’s really hard for me to see something like that,” she said. “Those kids didn’t even have a chance.” This sounds like it might have been personal. What kind of heartless a**hole can shoot a kid, much less a 2-year-old? R.I.P. Tasha, Tarri & Mook! Source

Conrad Murray’s trial slated to start March 28. By Gil Kaufman Dr. Conrad Murray appears in court on Tuesday in Los Angeles, California Photo: Irfan Khan-Pool/ Getty Images Michael Jackson’s former personal physician Dr. Conrad Murray entered a plea of not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter in the June 2009 death of the pop star at his arraignment on Tuesday morning (January 25). According to the Los Angeles Times, when asked by judge Michael Pastor how he pleaded to the charge, Murray said, “Your honor, I am an innocent man.” When Pastor interrupted and asked Murray what his plea was, the cardiologist said, “Therefore, I plead not guilty.” The brief hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court ended with Pastor setting a March 28 date for the start of a trial in the case. Murray faces a maximum of four years in prison if convicted, and the Times noted that he surprised the judge by invoking his right to a speedy trial, which meant the case would have to begin by late March. Pastor noted the rarity of a defendant asking to have a speedy trial, then set jury selection for the week of March 28 and said he was inclined to allow television coverage of the trial that the defense expects will last two months. Lawyers for Murray have maintained his innocence all along, saying he did not do anything that “should have” caused the 50-year-old pop icon’s death. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office determined that Jackson died of an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol mixed with a cocktail of other sedatives. Murray has admitted to administering propofol to Jackson in the hours before the singer’s death, but the defense appears to be gearing up to claim that it was Jackson who administered the final, fatal dose of the drug after he woke in a panic from a fitful night of sleep. During a preliminary hearing earlier this month to determine if there was enough evidence to hold Murray over for trial, the physician’s attorneys said that there was evidence Jackson injected or drank a fatal amount of the drug when the doctor was not looking. Related Photos Michael Jackson: A Life In Photos Related Artists Michael Jackson

Filed under: Michael Douglas Michael Douglas just dropped some incredible news about his battle with throat cancer — telling Matt Lauer , “The tumor is gone.” Douglas appeared on “Today” this morning and explained that he’ll have to get checked out “on a monthly basis now to… Read more

Filed under: Angelina Pivarnick , TV , Celebrity Justice Angelina from ” Jersey Shore ” has been smacked with a lawsuit over an alleged “violent assault” on a female clubgoer before a Celebrity Boxing match in NJ last month … and now Trump is also a target. Melissa Mayne claims she was leaving a nightclub… Read more

Although dissimilar upon first glance, Taylor Swift and Alessandra Ambrosio have something in common: An affinity for long-sleeved T-shirts and Love Potion No. 9. Both cute stars were spotted out in the same ensemble at various points over the last few weeks, and you know where we’re doing with this, right? It’s time for them to Face-Off, THG style! Cast your vote now.

After remaining mostly silent thus far, Dr. Conrad Murray’s lawyers laid some of the groundwork for their defense at his preliminary hearing today. He’s charged with involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death. Murray’s lawyer, J. Michael Flanagan, asked a Coroner investigator two questions: Was the IV bag of Propofol fingerprinted? Was it possible for Jackson to reach the syringes from the bed? The defense will argue that Jackson killed himself by accident as he grew frustrated when he couldn’t sleep and gave himself the fatal dosage. Propofol, a powerful anesthetic, is what killed Jackson. An investigator for the L.A. County Coroner’s Office said 12 bottles were found in his home. A pharmacist Dr. Murray used to order Propofol testified that the doctor ordered box after box of the drug in the two months before Jackson died. In all, Murray, the sole defendant in the Michael Jackson case , ordered 255 vials of Propofol in the two months leading up to the singer’s demise. It’s still very early, but this just makes Murray look …

Testimony has Conrad Murray removing IV stand and two bags of medication. By Gil Kaufman, with additional reporting by Kara Warner Alberto Alvarez, Michael Jackson’s bodyguard, leaves court after testifying at the preliminary hearing for Dr. Conrad Murray on January 5 Photo: Toby Canham/Getty Images The second day of testimony in the preliminary hearing of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray , featured damning testimony from one of the late King of Pop’s bodyguards about Murray’s actions in the critical minutes after the singer was found unresponsive. After a former Jackson staffer testified Tuesday that Murray appeared to not know how to perform CPR properly , security guard Alberto Alvarez said on Wednesday (January 5) that the cardiologist frantically grabbed medical evidence from the star’s bedroom before instructing Alvarez to call 911. The Los Angeles Times reported that Alvarez said he was the first person to walk into Jackson’s bedroom after Murray realized his patient was not breathing, where he found the cardiologist administering chest compressions with one hand while Jackson lay on his bed, which goes against the recommended procedure for the life-saving method. “I said, ‘Dr. Murray, what happened?’ ” Alvarez told the court. ” ‘He had a bad reaction, he had a bad reaction,’ that’s all he said.” Alvarez choked up as he described how Jackson’s daughter, Paris, followed him into the room and screamed when she saw her father sprawled out and unresponsive on the bed. He said Murray then instructed him to get the children out of the room, noticing as he left that Jackson’s penis was out of his underwear and that medical tubing was attached to it. When Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked Alvarez if he knew what a condom catheter was, the security guard said he did not. Alvarez said he then witnessed Murray grabbing a handful of medicine bottles and instructing the security guard to put them in a bag. He told the court that he held open the bag as the doctor dropped the bottles of medicine inside and then put it in a brown canvas bag on the floor, per Murray’s instructions. Murray also allegedly told Alvarez to grab one of the two bags hanging on an IV stand next to Jackson’s bed and put it in another bag. Alvarez said he noticed a “milk-like substance” in the bottom of the IV bag. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office determined that Jackson died of an acute intoxication of propofol, a powerful surgical anesthetic sometimes referred to as “milk of amnesia” thanks to its milky white appearance. Only after the medical materials had been put away did Murray tell Alvarez to call 911. “After you had collected the bottles per Dr. Murray’s instructions, and after you had collected the bags per Dr. Murray’s instructions, did Dr. Murray instruct you to call 911?” Walgren asked. “Yes, sir,” Alvarez responded. TMZ reported that during cross-examination, defense attorney Ed Chernoff got Alvarez to admit that he never told police about Murray ordering him to remove the bottles and Alvarez later admitted that he may try to sell his story. Later in the day, EMT Richard Senniff testified that he arrived at the Jackson home, just four minutes after the 911 call was placed. According to TMZ, Senniff said that, based on the condition of Jackson’s body, it appeared that Murray waited at least 20 minutes to call 911. Senniff also stated that when he asked Murray what meds Jackson had been administered, he only listed lorazepam (Ativan). Jackson cook Kai Chase also testified, revealing the food she prepared for Jackson prior to his death (seared ahi tuna and salad, white bean Tuscan soup) and that she knew something was wrong when Murray came downstairs in a panic and summoned Jackson’s son, Prince. The preliminary hearing is aimed at determining whether there is enough evidence to try Murray on a felony count of involuntary manslaughter in the June 2009 death of the King of Pop. It is expected to last two to three weeks. Related Artists Michael Jackson